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UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Test will be on “Aptitude Test” under a Civil
Services Aptitude Test (CSAT). Objective tests will be common and compulsory
for all from Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would
consist of two papers- Paper I and Paper II.

Syllabus for 2011 UPSC Aptitude Test for Prelims

(The syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as under)

(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs.

· Current events of national and international importance
· History of India and Indian national movement
· Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the
world
· Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public
policy, Rights issues, etc.
· Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion,
demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
· General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that donot
require subject specialization
· General science.

(Paper II) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hrs

· Comprehension
· Interpersonal skills including communication skills
· Logical reasoning and analytical ability
· Decision making and problem solving
· General mental ability
· Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level),
Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. –Class X level)
· English language comprehension skills (Class X level)

Courtesy: Union Public Service Commission – UPSC

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UPSC Chairman D.P. Agrawal’s speech on 12.11.2009

Commission in 2002 had forwarded the recommendations on the Alagh Committee Report but no
action has been taken by the Govt. on the same. Considering the changes that had taken place
during the interregnum, Commission deliberated the issue in their meetings, and as a forward
looking organization in improving the quality of candidates for Civil Service, made
recommendations for replacing the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination with a Civil Services
Aptitude Test.

The Administrative Reforms Commission in its recommendations has also supported this view.
The proposal is under active consideration of the Government. Here, I must express the gratitude
of the Commission to five of the Ex. Hon’ble Chairmen for sparing their valuable time and guiding
us in formulating the response on the points raised by the Administrative Reforms Commission.
Apart from this, another issue, which has been a concern for the Commission, was linkage of
UPSC Examinations with Eighth Schedule languages.

Commission had been taking up this matter with the Government for a long time and now the
Government has come round to Commission’s view and has agreed with Commission’s
recommendation to constitute a single Standing Committee to consider all issues relating to
Language Policy for the Commission. Accordingly, Commission has constituted a High Level
Standing Committee to examine the modalities for implementing the recommendations of the
Parliamentary Resolution on Official Languages in a manner consistent with the high standards of
UPSC without compromising the quality and standards of examinations conducted by the
Commission. This Committee will inter alia lay down standards to be met for a language to be
eligible for inclusion in the examinations conducted by the UPSC.